Ratna Pathak Shah
Indian actress and director
Ratna Pathak Shah (born 7 August 1957) is an Indian actress and director known for her work in Hindi theatre, television, and films. Her extensive work in theatre includes a series of plays in both English and Hindi. She rose to prominence when she appeared in the hit TV serial Idhar Udhar in the 1980s.
She garnered widespread recognition and acclaim with her portrayal of Maya Sarabhai, a snobbish socialite in the cult sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (2004-2006). Her other prominent roles include the coming-of-age romantic comedy Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008), the action comedy Golmaal 3 (2010), the family comedy-drama Kapoor & Sons (2016), the black-comedy Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017) and the road adventure drama Dhak Dhak (2023), all of which earned her nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received critical acclaim for her performances in the romantic comedies Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) and Khoobsurat (2014). Her performance in Amazon Prime Video's anthology film Unpaused (2020) earned her a nomination for the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Web Original Film.
Daughter of actress Dina Pathak, she married actor Naseeruddin Shah in 1982, with whom she has two sons. Her sister is actress Supriya Pathak, who is married to actor Pankaj Kapur.
01Early life
Ratna Pathak was born on 7 August 1957 in Bombay, in the Bombay State (now Mumbai, Maharashtra) of India, into a Hindu family to a Punjabi father, Baldev Pathak and a Gujarati mother, Dina Pathak (née Gandhi), from Amreli in Kathiawar. She is the sister of actress, Supriya Pathak.
Pathak grew up in the Parsi Colony of Dadar with her sister, and is an alumna of the J. B. Vachha High School and the 1981 batch of the National School of Drama in New Delhi.
02Career
As well as appearing in many successful films, including Mirch Masala, Ratna Pathak appeared as the wife in The Perfect Murder.
She also acted in the cult sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai where she played Maya Sarabhai, a high society socialite, for which she received the ITA Award for Best Actress, Comedy in 2005.
In July 2008 she appeared in the coming-of-age romantic comedy Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na as the mother of the protagonist. Naseeruddin Shah played her husband, as a deceased character who talks to her from a portrait. She has also acted in several Russian plays, as well as co-founding and being an active member of "Motley Theatre Group". She appeared in the action comedy Golmaal 3 opposite Mithun Chakraborty. She was a part of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Selection Committee for 2012 Awards. Ratna Pathak Shah, who has appeared in many successful Hindi films, will star in her first Gujarati movie “Kutch Express Gujarati Movie”.
03Personal life
Pathak married Naseeruddin Shah in 1982. They have two sons together, Imaad and Vivaan Shah. Naseeruddin also has a daughter, Heeba Shah, from his first marriage.
04Filmography
Film
Hindi
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Mandi | Malti Devi | Debut |
| 1987 | Mirch Masala | Pallavi | |
| 1989 | Jazeere | Mrs. Rita Mascarenhas | |
| 2002 | Encounter | Sudha Rao | |
| 2005 | Paheli | , N/a | Voiceover |
| 2006 | Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota | Tara Shankarnarayanan | |
| 2008 | Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na | Savitri Rathod | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2009 | Aladin | Marjina | |
| 2010 | Golmaal 3 | Geeta | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2012 | Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu | Seema Kapoor | |
| 2014 | Khoobsurat | Nirmala Devi | |
| 2016 | Kapoor & Sons | Sunita Kapoor | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2016 | Nil Battey Sannata | Dr. Reena Deewan | |
| 2017 | Lipstick Under My Burkha | Usha Makhija | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2017 | Mubarakan | Arshveer/Jeeto Kaur Bajwa | |
| 2018 | Love per Square Foot | Blossom D'Souza | |
| 2020 | Thappad | Sandhya | |
| Unpaused | Uma Raja Maheshwari | OTT film Nominated, Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Web Original Film | |
| 2021 | Hum Do Hamare Do | Deepti Kashyap | Hotstar film |
| 2022 | Attack: Part 1 | Shanti Shergill | |
| Jayeshbhai Jordaar | Jashoda | ||
| 2023 | Dhak Dhak | Manpreet Kaur Sethi "Mahi" | Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2025 | Detective Sherdil | Rajeshwari Bhatti |
English
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Heat and Dust | Ritu Verma |
| 1988 | The Perfect Murder | Pratima Ghote |
| 1995 | Mr. Ahmed | Amma |
| 2011 | The Coffin Maker | Isabella |
Gujarati
| Year | Film | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Kutch Express | Baiji | Debut |
| 2025 | Bachu Ni Benpani | Suman Gauri Nagar "Simmi" |
Television
| Year (s) | Show | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-1998 | Idhar Udhar | Sunita | |
| 1988 | Bharat Ek Khoj | Lakshmibai | Episode 42-43 1857 |
| 1993-1995 | Filmi Chakkar | Rukmani | |
| 1993-1997 | Tara | Kanchan | |
| 1996 | Mast Mast Hai Zindagi | Kalpana | |
| 1997 | Movers & Shakers | Herself | Guest appearance |
| 1999 | Gubbare | Ms. Gupta | Episode 6: Jhooth |
| 2000 | Apna Apna Style | Suman | |
| 2004-2006 | Sarabhai vs Sarabhai | Maya Sarabhai | |
| 2012 | The Late Night Show Jitna Rangeen Utna Sangeen | Herself | Guest appearance |
| 2017 | Sarabhai vs Sarabhai: Take 2 | Maya Sarabhai | |
| 2018 | Selection Day | Nellie | |
| 2023 | Trial By Fire | Mrs. Bedi | |
| Happy Family: Conditions Apply | Hemlata Mansukhlal Dholakia | ||
| Charlie Chopra | Ms. Bharucha |
05Awards and nominations
| Television Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Show | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
| 2005 | Sarabhai vs Sarabhai | Indian Telly Awards | Best Actress in a Comic Role | Won | |
| 2006 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actress, Comedy | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | Happy Family: Conditions Apply | 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards | Best Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ratna Pathak Shah”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Ratna Pathak Shah at DIFF 2016.jpg by Satdeep Gill, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak at 'Gangs Of Wasseypur' screening 10.jpg by Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0
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